


Trial

by nanuk_dain



Series: Drift Compatible [21]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Action, Chuck & Raleigh drift together, Kaiju-slaying, M/M, intense drifting, naughty thoughts while drifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-26
Updated: 2014-10-26
Packaged: 2018-02-22 16:42:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2514713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanuk_dain/pseuds/nanuk_dain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During their first drift test, Raleigh takes the opportunity to show Chuck <i>exactly</i> why he had left after Yancy's death. Maybe it's a little bit of a revenge, too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trial

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this part turned out to be quite long. And it has action - a Kaiju fight! I hope you like it, I put a lot of work into it. Please feed my wee scribe's soul with a comment? You'd make my day ^_^

_Hong Kong Shatterdome, January 9th 2025_

 

It's six am, and Raleigh feels as if he's experiencing a deja-vu. He's standing in the Kwoon Combat Room, at the edge of the sparring mats, hanbō in his hand. A good deal of onlookers have gathered around the ring. He can even make out the Kaidonovskys among the spectators, Sasha with a huge bandage around the head and Aleksis with his arm in a cast. They're both sitting on a bench, with tells him a lot about their condition. There's low murmuring filling the room; people are curious about the coming fight.

Opposite of Raleigh, at the other end of the ring, stands Chuck.

Raleigh can't believe that he actually has to do a drift compatibility trial with Chuck fucking Hansen. Pentecost and Herc just decided that they are to pilot together if they're drift compatible - which Raleigh is aware they know is the case, so this is just a formality, really. They didn't even ask Raleigh, and he's still pissed about that. Well, at least Chuck hasn't been asked either, judging by the grumpy look on his face.

Mako stands with Pentecost and Herc on the steps leading to the Kwoon. She doesn't have her usually omnipresent tablet with her since she can't hold it with her arm in a sling, so instead Herc has it, ready to type in their scores, probably along with all kind of notes. Raleigh has the inkling that Mako was pretty involved in getting Pentecost to have Chuck and him to do a trial. He wants to resent her for it, but he knows how much it hurts her that she can't go herself, and therefore how much it must cost her to actively pursue a replacement for herself in Gipsy's Conn-Pod. She's a strong woman, but then, Raleigh already knew that before they drifted together. 

"Four strikes marks a win." Herc says loudly into the room, not addressing anybody in particular. It's not really necessary, everybody knows the rules, but it has become a tradition to say those exact words before the beginning of an official trial. Right on cue the curious spectators fall silent and focus their attention on the two men on the sparring mats. 

Chuck sets his shoes down just outside the mats, exactly like Raleigh did a few minutes ago, and takes up position opposite of him. He looks hot in his navy blue tank top, the muscles of his arms flexing when he handles the hanbō, his feet bare. Raleigh noticed his rugged good looks at their first meeting, and he would have been tempted if Chuck wasn't such a complete asshole right from the beginning. It's as if he doesn't want people to like him, Raleigh thinks. Or maybe he really just _is_ a total jerk.

For a long moment, they just stand there, staring each other down. Raleigh can see a muscle twitch in Chuck's neck, but his gaze is firm and doesn't waver. Out of nowhere he lurches and attacks Raleigh's side, but it's as if Raleigh knew before he even moved what he was going to do, where he was going to aim. It's there again, that connection he felt in the hallway in front of the Marshal's office. It swirls around him, no, around _them_ , and it takes him no effort to parry the hit and seamlessly turn his defence in an attack of his own.

This time it's Chuck who counters the move almost before Raleigh can execute it. He feels his hanbō impact hard with Chuck's, once, twice, three times. Back and forth, offence and defence, coordinated as if it was a staged fight with a sequence of moves determined in advance. It's not, though, it just comes naturally. Raleigh doesn't even have to think about it, he just _feels_ it, this perfect sync with Chuck. It's a little like a drift hangover, but it's also very different. On a completely different level. 

It feels like they're flying over the mats in a flurry of moves too fast to follow. Sweat runs down Raleigh's forehead, almost into his eyes, and he takes a second to wipe it away. Chuck's face is red with exertion and he's panting like Raleigh is. Just in that moment it hits Raleigh that they even _stop_ fighting in sync - he notices it because he's quite sure that Chuck is not the kind of fighter who would normally miss such a great opportunity to attack. As soon as Raleigh's in the game again, Chuck is right there with him.

Time loses its meaning. The only thing Raleigh sees, hears, feels is the movements of his body, of Chuck's body, their synchronised breathing, their unbroken eye contact. The world narrows down on them and their fight. It makes him feel high, and maybe that's the adrenaline speaking, but he can't stop taking a strange, almost pure kind of pleasure in their fight. He knows it won't end anytime soon, and he's surprised to find that he doesn't mind. Neither he nor Chuck have managed to score so far.

He can't say how long they've been at it when Herc's voice cuts through the haze he's in. It feels almost like a violation of their... _privacy_ to be reminded that there are other people in the room with them.

"All right, guys! We call it a draw." Herc nods at both of them, so does Pentecost who's standing right next to him. "Well done." 

There is an awed silence filling the Kwoon. They all know what they've just witnessed, because they have seen it before, whenever they watched Sasha and Aleksis Kaidonovsky spar. A perfect match at it's best. It's an unspoken understanding that the fight wouldn't have ended on its own, that's why Herc called it off. It's all they need do see anyway. They have their answer.

"Be in the simulator in two hours. We'll run a drift test then." Pentecost orders before he turns and leaves the Kwoon, Herc following him while Mako stays behind. Next to him, Raleigh can hear Chuck growl in displeasure. Suddenly the haze is gone, and Raleigh remembers that it's Chuck the arrogant asshole he's supposed to drift with in an hour.

Great. Raleigh suppresses an annoyed sigh. His one and only wish, to get in that prick's head and have him in his own. Maybe he should just have let Chuck beat him and pretend that there is no drift compatibility.

Mako throws him a warning glance, and he wonders how much she still picks up over the ghost drift. He remembers the feeling only too well from his years of drifting with Yancy. It was especially strong and unsettling after their very first two or three drifts. Mako's still in that stage.

Raleigh turns to look at Chuck, but the only thing he sees is his back disappearing among the dispersing crowd of onlookers. Raleigh stares after the ginger head he can make out easily enough among the other people and lets out a frustrated breath. That drift is going to be so much fun, he thinks with a sigh.

Mako is waiting for him by his shoes at the edge of the ring. She doesn't set foot on it because she's wearing her boots, instead she's waiting for him to come to her. Raleigh crosses the mats and bends down to put on his boots, glancing up at her. He knows she has something to say, he could tell even without the faint echo of the drift hangover.

"You are a perfect match." Mako says quietly. Her uninjured hand is playing with the sleeve of her J-Tech overall, and Raleigh knows she's missing having her tablet in her hands. He sometimes thinks it's her own personal shield against the world, her way to keep control.

Raleigh sighs heavily. "Don't I know."

"There are only four other perfect matches known out of over forty pilot teams. It is a very rare gift, Raleigh." Mako looks down to where he's still kneeling and fastening his boots, and waits for him to get up before she continues speaking. "You are very lucky to have found your perfect match. Don't ruin it because you think you don't like him."

Raleigh shrugs uncomfortably. "Well, you can hardly deny that he behaves like a complete dick."

Mako inclines her head as if she's granting him that he has a point. "Maybe. But you don't know Chuck. Don't give up on him just yet. Give this a chance."

The echoes of emotions, really deep emotions, coming over the faint, remaining drift tell Raleigh that Mako would have done anything to have a perfect match. But it's not something you have any influence on - some pilots have one, others don't or they just never meet. Sometimes you meet that person, but they're not a Ranger. There are many reasons why perfectly matched pilot teams are the exception, not the rule.

And Raleigh has been granted this special gift. She doesn't want him to throw it away over a first impression gone wrong. Well, the second and third and fourth impression haven't been any better, Raleigh thinks wryly, but he gives in, seeing her point.

"I'll give him a chance." Raleigh agrees with a pensive nod, then he smirks at her. "But you better tell him the same thing, because if he doesn't make an effort to be less of a prick, we'll be going nowhere together. Especially not in a Jaeger." 

Mako gives him a little smile. "I intended to talk to Chuck, too."

"Good luck with that." Raleigh gently pats her uninjured shoulder before he turns to head for the showers. "If you don't show up for the drift test, I know he bit your head off."

He hears Mako chuckle behind him when he leaves. He wants to wash up a bit after the trial because he feels sweaty and a bit sore, nothing that a hot shower won't cure. And then he intends to grab some breakfast before it's time to head to the drivesuit room to suit up before the simulation. Busy morning.

By the time he gets to the drivesuit room, he managed to get everything done that he has wanted to do - including the rather satisfyingly big breakfast. Raleigh isn't surprised to find Chuck already there and the techs working on his drivesuit. He may not like Chuck very much, but Raleigh respects his professionalism. Chuck is nothing if not perfectionist where it concerns his job. At least one thing about him that isn't a flaw, Raleigh thinks and is immediately grateful that Mako is nowhere nearby to listen in on his thoughts and give him that chiding gaze she has down to perfection.

Chuck gives him only a passing glance when he enters, otherwise he completely ignores Raleigh. What a promising start for a first drift, Raleigh thinks with a barely suppressed snort while the techs begin to help him suit up. The circuitry suit comes first, then the pieces of the battle armour. It's a a drill that's so familiar that it has an almost calming effect on Raleigh. He always liked suiting up. 

They walk into the Conn-Pod together, and before Raleigh can even suggest that he'd take the right harness due to his messed up left arm, Chuck heads for the left side on his own and claims it without even saying a word. Raleigh wonders if that was some kind of success on Mako's part, if Chuck really took Raleigh's arm in consideration or if he's simply used to pilot on the left side. Probably the latter, he muses. 

They step in and get connected to their harnesses just as Tendo's voice comes over the comm. "Good morning, gentlemen."

"Tendo. Good to know it'll be you torturing us." Raleigh replies with a smirk.

"It will be my pleasure, Becket boy." He can hear the grin in Tendo's voice. "I have something special for the two of you."

"I'm sure you spent all day creating a nice scenario for us." 

A chuckle comes over the comm. "Oh, you know me too well, Becket boy."

There's a moment of silence, then Tendo is back, sounding all professional and down to business. It lets Raleigh know right away that the Marshal has joined Tendo in the simulator's LOCCENT equivalent. "Gipsy Danger, get ready for the drop."

The techs finish connecting the suits to the harnesses and leave the simulator which looks very much like a Mark III Conn-Pod, which is why Tendo decided to pretend they're piloting Gipsy. Raleigh wonders if Chuck would rather have it look like a Mark V because a Mark III is so beneath him. 

"Ready." This time it's Chuck who takes over the communication, and Raleigh lets him. He's never been fond of the professional communication, the fun stuff is more his thing. Back when it was him and his brother piloting, it was always Yancy who took over the comm.

The simulator jerks in a really perfect illusion of the drop and Raleigh holds his balance by years of practise. 

"Cuff link confirmed." Tendo reports. "Gipsy Danger, ready to engage neural handshake?" 

Chuck is glaring at Raleigh for a second - he's just as much looking forward to this as I am, Raleigh realises - before he says curtly. "Ready."

"Initiating neural handshake."

Raleigh closes his eyes to prepare for the initialisation of the drift. He's still not quite willing to share his mind with Chuck, but he knows there's no way around it. Mako can't pilot, neither can any of the other pilots, not to mention that he's not drift compatible with any them. So if he has to do this, he will do it right. He can't help a small, slightly mean smirk.

So maybe it's a little bit out of spite, but Raleigh can't help it, he makes a point of throwing his memories of Yancy being yanked out of the Conn-Pod at Chuck the moment he feels the link between them being established. They're in a simulator - obviously nobody was willing to repeat the episode of Raleigh's and Mako's test run in Gipsy - so Raleigh knows nothing too bad can happen if they get out of alignment. He doesn't know why it's so important, but he wants Chuck to really and truly get it - with all the pain involved. Raleigh knows that he has to live through the memory himself in order to make Chuck experience it, and although he's profoundly reluctant to do so, he knows that he will.

Because Chuck, that arrogant prick, needs to understand that Raleigh didn't run. 

And then he feels it, how it hits Chuck full force, how he's drowning in all the pain and loss and helplessness that Raleigh experienced when Knifehead tore through Gipsy's Conn-Pod. How the sudden silence was so deafening that it almost killed him, worse than any physical injury could ever be. Raleigh reels with the agony of living through it again, he wants to curl up into a ball and just give up, but he fights it, just as he did back then. 

And suddenly Chuck's fighting beside him, with him, all the way back to the surface of the memories.

It takes Raleigh a moment to realise that they're on the same side, that Chuck is _with him_ , that he understands what he didn't get before. Raleigh reaches out to him unconsciously, touching his mind since his body is strapped in the simulator's harness. He wants to thank Chuck for choosing to stand by him, wants to show that he appreciates the help, the understanding he feels coming over the drift, unexpected as it is.

Instead Raleigh is hit with a flood of memories from Chuck's side. He can tell that Chuck is good at controlling his drift, yet there are things bleeding over that he is sure Chuck doesn't want him to see. There's him, a younger, cocky version of him, and there's Chuck, also younger, in his teens, and they're in a room Raleigh doesn't recognise. They're on the bed, and Raleigh is wearing nothing but his dog tags, and Chuck is right there above him, his mouth hot against Raleigh's neck. He's straddling Raleigh's waist, his erection resting hard and wet against Raleigh's stomach while he's busy biting a mark right below Raleigh's collarbone. Oh god, it feels so good, and Raleigh's breath hitches while he arches his head back to grant Chuck better access. Arousal floods his system, warm and liquid, pooling in his groin. It's not all his, it's Chuck's, too. Raleigh suddenly understands that it was his mental touch that made Chuck lose control. He did the one thing Chuck doesn't know how to deal with: touch him, but without the intent to hurt. 

The wave of memories doesn't end there. The scene shifts, the room turns into a Jaeger bay that's miraculously devoid of all the usual activity. He feels cold metal in his back, knows that Chuck has shoved him up against Striker's massive foot. There are hands on his ass, and he has his legs wrapped around Chuck's waist. They're kissing, hot and hard and messy, and Raleigh doesn't want to stop. He makes fists in Chuck's short hair and pulls him in, deepening their kiss, closing every last tiny gap between their bodies. It's when he opens his eyes to look at Chuck that he notices that they're both their current age, and Raleigh realises that this fantasy isn't an old teenage dream. 

It's recent. 

Suddenly he understands. Chuck still wants him. The him from this time, not the imaginative hero from his youth. Goosebumps spread all over Raleigh's skin, prickling against the circuitry suit, and he licks his suddenly dry lips. He's hard in his drivesuit, and the urge to get over there and touch Chuck, _right now_ , makes him twitch. He knows that the moment they're alone, he won't be able to keep from jumping Chuck. Quite literally. 

A wave of heat from Chuck tells Raleigh that he picked up on those thoughts. Good. At least Raleigh knows he's not alone in this. It's new to him, he has never shared sexual desire over the drift before. Not in the meaning of both parties actively participating in it. He'd seen Yancy with Naomi the Jaeger fly, but that wasn't directed at himself.

But with Chuck, it's different. With Chuck, it's white-hot desire, it's pent up emotions and longing, and it's all directed at _him_. It's intense, so much stronger than a normal drift. It's as if Chuck's arousal is his and his is Chuck's, a circle, amplifying itself. For a fleeting moment Raleigh wonders what it must feel like to have sex while being in the drift. He's not sure he'd survive the level of intensity at the moment of orgasm. 

A naughty thought pops up in his mind, obviously from Chuck, who let's him know that they could test it and find out. Before Raleigh can even think of an appropriate reply, the world comes back into focus. It all took only the blink of an eye, the second it takes to initiate the drift, but it feels like half a lifetime. 

"Neural handshake at 100%." Tendo reports over the comm, and it's as if his voice pulls Raleigh back into the here and now. "Now that's quite impressive, boys."

Oh god, Raleigh doesn't even want to know what the readings on Tendo's screen are showing. He hopes they're not detailed enough to let him guess what's going on in their minds right now. But Tendo will surely be able to read the state of arousal in the body status surveillance data that their drivesuits transmit.

"You okay in there?" Tendo asks when neither Raleigh nor Chuck respond. Raleigh is sure he can pick up on a teasing note in Tendo's voice. Shit, he knows. Raleigh just hopes that the Marshal isn't standing right besides him, reading the same screens. Or better even, Herc, too. He feels Chuck groan with embarrassed agony over the drift.

"We're okay." Raleigh replies, astonished how normal his voice sounds considering that he feels as if he was just in a hot and steamy make-out session. Well, it was only in his mind, after all.

A quiet rebuke comes over the drift.

Okay, _their_ mind. He isn't the 'author' of those scenarios. 

He wouldn't mind playing one of the lead roles, though. Again a wave of heat reaches him, embarrassment mixed with arousal, desire and a good deal of anticipation. He grins. Oh yeah, they will spend the rest of the day behind closed doors, that's for sure.

"Now let's start the simulation. I want to see what you can do, boys." Tendo tells them, effectively cutting short any more stimulating fantasies. The sight around them changes, and suddenly they find themselves in Victoria Harbour, right outside the Shatterdome, so to speak. It's a very convincing simulation, and Raleigh feels himself react to it immediately. So does Chuck, and Raleigh can't help noticing how in sync they are when they take up a fighting stance without even consciously thinking about it. 

It's nothing like drifting with Yancy or Mako. It's on a completely different level. It's so intense. So... _straightforward_ , for lack of a better word. There's no argument about what to do, how to do it, when to do it. They just know. They just do it.

They're one. They don't need words. Everything Raleigh and Chuck say is just for the benefit of LOCCENT. Now Raleigh knows why no Kaiju ever managed to breach the Siberian Wall. He suddenly understands the Kaidonovskys on an entirely different level.

"Gipsy Danger, we have a category four, codename Predator, on approach." Tendo sounds absolutely like he does in real emergencies, and it puts Raleigh on edge right away, makes the simulation real in a way not even the most perfect visualisation ever could. 

So he reacts like he would in an actual event - with irony. "Predator? Really?"

"It suits him." Tendo explains matter of fact. It's no secret that he likes naming Kaiju. "This is one of the biggest category fours we've ever had. He's really fast, too, so be advised to be extra careful."

"What are your orders?" Chuck asks, his mind as completely in the situation as Raleigh's.

"Hold the Miracle Mile off Hong Kong. Don't let him get anywhere near the city." Pentecost replies firmly. "We have no backup to offer, it's all down to you."

"Yes, sir." Chuck affirms, all professional. They know there's nobody left to have their back.

"Assuming that he keeps the current speed and direction, you have seven minutes to get into position." Tendo lets them know. LOCCENT's sensors have a far longer reach than the Jaeger's. 

"We're on our way." Chuck says just as they start moving. It doesn't require any coordination, they just start with the left leg at the exact same moment and make their way out of the harbour to take up their position two miles away from shore. It always pays to have a mile of buffer zone.

"LOCCENT, we're in position. We have the Kaiju on screen." Chuck ends the transmission just as Predator breaches the surface a short distance in front of them. It's an ugly thing, that Kaiju, like nothing Raleigh has ever seen before. Huge and almost plump in shape, but with a vicious looking threefold tail, six legs - or arms? - and a head that vaguely reminds Raleigh of those flying dinosaurs he was so fond of as a kid. 

_Pteranodon_ Chuck supplies over the drift right away. Raleigh can't help a smirk. Of course he would know. Tendo should have named this one 'Alien', at least the shape of the head was a better fit. A moment later Raleigh wonders if Newton the Kaiju groupie and Tendo spend their free time designing the Kaiju for the simulations, going through all the dinosaurs and monster movies they can find. It wouldn't surprise him.

"We have visuals." Chuck informs LOCCENT. "We're about to engage."

"Copy that, Gipsy."

In union Raleigh and Chuck move towards the Kaiju, going for its head extension that just begs to be grabbed. Predator is good, though, and as fast as Tendo warned them about. He ducks and attacks them, getting a hold around Gipsy's waist, and squeezing hard. They make use of the opportunity to smash Gipsy's massive hands together on both sides of its head where humans have their ears. They use all the strength they have, and the Kaiju lets go of them, roaring in pain. They loose no time, fully profiting of the moment of vulnerability, and punch his ugly face hard. Raleigh is caught in the flow of movements, of action and reaction, of attack and parry. He's amazed again at how clear the drift is, how it works without a spoken word. It's all in their mind, lightning fast and deadly precise.

Chuck is taking his cues from him, because he's never been in a Mark III before and knows that there are quite relevant differences. He's used to the reaction time, strength and speed of Striker Eureka, who was built two years later than the Mark IIIs. He knows a lot of development happened in those two years, but it's one thing to know something and an entirely different thing to have first hand experience. At first Raleigh is surprised at Chuck's willingness to follow his lead, then he realises that he should have known. Chuck is very professional when it comes to his job and puts the success of the mission ahead of his personal feelings - he would never allow defeat just because he's too proud to admit that he has to adapt to a new situation first. It's one of those mature traits that Raleigh has only just begun to see, although he knows they must have been there the entire time.

Predator goes down, disappearing under the surface. It's obvious that he's regrouping, but he's not showing on the screen. "LOCCENT, where is he?! We can't pick up his signature."

"He's coming at you from your left flank! Brace for impact!" Tendo is almost shouting, and Raleigh manages to widen his stance just as the Kaiju shoots out of the water as if propelled, and god is that bastard fast. He crashes into the Jaeger's side, Raleigh's side, and it's so strong that it takes his breath away for an incredibly long moment. Then the pain eases, unexpected, and it's Chuck taking a good deal of it over the drift to ease the load in order to keep them both functioning. 

They stagger under the onslaught, but do not fall. Instead they grab the beak-like front of Predator's head and use it to hold him steady while pummelling him repeatedly with Gipsy's massive fists. Their lower half is encased in the upper four arms-legs-whatever of the Kaiju in an uncomfortably tight grip, and just when they pull back to hit Predator again, one of the three tails snaps forward and slams into Gipsy's back, right at the spine. Once, twice, three times. One tail after the other. 

The pain is strong enough to make both Raleigh and Chuck groan. Okay, they need to get rid of those devious tails. 

"Engaging sword!" Chuck informs to LOCCENT. They're already unsheathing it, and the two seconds it takes to unleash the segments and then pull them tight into a blade is enough to be hit again. Just when the next tail comes at them, Chuck swings the blade around and cuts it off near the middle. The Kaiju screams and the arms around them tighten to the point of crushing pain.

It's not just the tails they need to get rid of, Raleigh thinks wryly. It's more like the whole Kaiju. 

Chuck smirks at the thought. _Then let's do it._

And just like that they're in motion, following Chuck's idea to reach with the sword behind Predator's back to sever all the tails at their root. They stretch and arch to get enough reach, then the Kaiju screams again, louder than before, and suddenly they can move again, the four arms opening in reflex. It's just what they had counted on, they step back just far enough to raise the right arm and plunge the sword deep into the Kaiju's abdomen. Just to make sure that the assault will be final, they turn the blade and pull it upwards. It takes all of their combined strength to slice through the flesh, and they hit bone that's almost too strong to cut through, but then the blade pulls free and there is no sound coming from Predator. That alone tells them they have done it even before Tendo can.

Thing is, Tendo doesn't tell them anything like that. He has completely different news.

"Gipsy, there's a second Kaiju heading your way!" He sounds tense, he's just as deeply in the simulation as Raleigh and Chuck. 

"You've got to be kidding me!" Chuck growls, and Raleigh feels his pissed off anger fill the drift.

Tendo continues without taking a break. "Category four as well, and just two minutes out!"

"Don't tell me you named him 'Alien'." Raleigh murmurs under his breath.

"Actually, I did." Tendo replies, the smirk obvious even if there's only audio. "Just for you." 

Raleigh can't help choking out a laugh. "How appropriate. Thank you very much, Mr Choi."

"You're welcome, Becket Boy." Tendo turns serious again. "One minute. Get ready, he's about to join the party."

"As if one Kaiju wasn't enough." Chuck growls some more, just because. Still, they're already taking up a fighting stance, sword still drawn, waiting for the next attack while the carcass of the last Kaiju is sinking to the seafloor behind them. 

"Gipsy, he's going around you! He's swimming away from you, to your right, almost half a mile and opening!"

"Tricky bastard." Raleigh frowns. These Kaiju are way more intelligent then the ones they dealt with before. Just like Leatherback and Otachi - Tendo must have written the simulation specifically for them to include yesterday's new development. A fine piece of work for not even twelve hours time.

"LOCCENT, we're in pursuit of the boogie." Chuck's words are brisk, there's no time for talking. Gipsy is running now, trying to get to the Kaiju before it makes landfall. It's a close call, and Raleigh and Chuck know it - in water, the Kaiju are in their home turf, they're fast, agile and stealthy same as they're slow, plump and very very obvious once they're on solid ground. It doesn't make them any less deadly, though, and Hong Kong is full of people, millions of people. It's not too hard to cause havoc in such a setting.

"You're closing in on him." Tendo tells them over the comm. "Keep it up and you'll get him at the shore."

"Roger that." 

Raleigh knows what Chuck is thinking, it's his own thought too, and so they strain their muscles to the extreme and gain the slightest bit of speed. They have to get to shore before Alien does. 

And they do, but only by some thirty seconds. It's enough, though, enough to take a defensive position in the harbour and block the Kaiju's path. It doesn't slow or stop, it heads straight for the Jaeger, smashing into it with all the accumulated speed of its approach. Raleigh and Chuck expected it, and positioned so that one of their feet is pressed against the harbour basin wall to give them the leverage to stop the momentum. It works just as planned, even if the wall takes heavy damage. No ship will be berthing here for quite a while.

Gipsy's hands grab a long bone extension, almost like a fin, sprouting from Alien's back and use it to force the Kaiju to turn away from the city. Alien is sleeker than Predator, but it's taller and has almost spidery long arm and two strongly muscled hind legs. Its head is small for the body, and there's a long ridge of bone standing out all along its back and tail. Raleigh is already thinking about how they can use the physical peculiarities to their advantage, and Chuck is right there with him. They both noticed the row of cranes at the harbour front, and their cables will catch perfectly in those scales. They will try to truss Alien up like a Christmas turkey, just enough to blast him into oblivion with the plasma canon. Raleigh might admit at that point that he has a thing for using cranes to beat up Kaiju.

It's like he can hear Chuck chuckle in his mind. _Let's get creative, then._

Alien's long thin front legs come up to strike at any part of Gispy it can reach. Raleigh and Chuck ignore the hits in favour of putting all their strength into pushing the Kaiju backwards towards the cranes. It takes a massive effort, the Kaiju's powerful hind legs just dig in to the silt of the harbour basin and push back. Meanwhile the legs are aiming for Gipsy's head, going after the pilots. They take two hits that shatter a section of the screen, bits and pieces are raining down the Conn-Pod and the system gives out a warning. The life support is running at full capacity, and Raleigh feels his muscles quiver with the strength it takes to keep pushing. 

Then they give in. 

It's Chuck's idea which turns into their plan right away, no need to think about it. The sudden lack of counterpressure makes the Kaiju jerk forwards, and they use the momentum to pull, turn on their own axis and throw Alien right at the cranes. It comes down hard, crashing into the structures and tearing them down, tangling in the mess of cables and beams. Raleigh and Chuck are on the move immediately, they know that it will recover fast, and they can't have that. 

They leap just when the Kaiju comes up to its feet again. It counters the attack, blocks their punch with a swing of his tail hitting Gispy in the midriff. It throws them off course, and it's a glass and steel skyscraper at the end of the harbour that stops their journey. It takes a moment to get up, but as soon as they're on their feet again, they're sprinting back towards the cranes. The Kaiju is still there, and it's satisfying to see that their plan worked - the hundreds of metres of steel cables have caught in the bone extensions on Alien's back where he can't reach them. He's behaving like an animal in a trap, twisting and turning in the attempt to get hold of the cables, and only making it worse in the process.

When the Kaiju spots them, it charges at them, no matter the precarious situation it's in, mouth wide open and aiming for their head. They can only just react, a last minute block, and the gigantic jaws close around their right arm, the teeth digging in, piercing the metal plating and damaging the mechanics. Chuck is gritting his teeth against the pain, holding his position by sheer force of will, giving Raleigh the moment he needs to engage the plasma canon. It seems to take ages before it's ready, but then they fire, once, twice, three times, four. First at the torso, then the last one to the head. It explodes in blue gore, covering Gipsy's hull, the ground, the harbour basin. It's going to be a bad case of Kaiju Blue, but right now, neither Raleigh nor Chuck care.

The massive body slumps down, almost on top of them, and the jaws loosen enough to pull free. Gipsy steps back and looks down at the headless carcass. 

"LOCCENT," Chuck sounds breathless, and he's grinning at Raleigh. "Alien is down."

Raleigh can feel the adrenaline coursing through Chuck's system, through his own system. It doubles the effect, makes Raleigh light headed, and he knows he's wearing the same huge grin on his face as Chuck. He has never felt so complete in his entire life.

"That was an impressive drift test and an unusual but very effective fighting strategy, gentlemen." Pentecost sounds satisfied for once. "Congratulation, Mr Becket and Mr Hansen, you're officially co-pilots now."

"Thank you, sir." Raleigh replies, his grin still in place. He remembers that he was opposed to drifting with Chuck even in their first seconds of actually doing it, but now he can't imagine piloting with anybody else. It's the single most amazing feeling to drift with Chuck, to think as one, to act as one, to _be_ one. 

"Great show, guys. I'd say return to base, but since you're already there, we'll cut it short." Tendo's voice reflects his good mood. "Ready to disengage neural handshake?"

Raleigh still looks at Chuck, eyes locked. _No, never._ He knows that they're both thinking it.

Chuck reaches out to the comm, never breaking the gaze. "Ready."

Usually Raleigh doesn't mind stepping out of the drift. It feels strange for the fist few minutes to be alone in your head again, but there's always the drift hangover, this faint feeling of the other person that lingers for hours afterwards, sometimes even longer. 

With Chuck, he doesn't want the drift to end.

Suddenly Chuck's gone, and it takes Raleigh a moment to find his equilibrium. It's as if somebody pulled the rug out from under his feet. He's disoriented, but it fades after a few seconds, just like he knew it would. Then the J-techs come in and undo the connections to the harnesses, and Raleigh and Chuck are on their way to the drivesuit room to get out of their gear. Mako and the Marshall are waiting right outside the simulator, and Pentecost looks pleasantly surprised.

"I didn't expect it to go quite that well, gentlemen." He greets them, a faint smile on his lips. "You exceeded all expectations. Good work."

Raleigh is stunned by the words, he's not used to praise from Pentecost, and it will always feel strange. He's still pleased. 

"Thank you, sir." He and Chuck reply in union, and that's when Raleigh first consciously notices it. Chuck's not quite gone from his head.

"Get out of your drivesuits, then you have the rest of the day off, gentlemen." Pentecost say before he turns and heads in the general direction of the real LOCCENT.

Mako stays and accompanies them to the drivesuit room. Raleigh is so caught up in the realisation that the connection to Chuck isn't entirely gone that he doesn't pay much attention to the things going on around him. He goes through the moves, stands and turns when asked, while the techs take off the battle armour. Chuck is standing next to him, undergoing the same treatment, and Raleigh can't stop staring. The neural handshake is disconnected, they're out of the simulator, but Raleigh still _feels_ Chuck. Feels how pleased he is with the way the drift test worked out, how he is proud to have received, _earned_ Pentecost's praise.

It's the strongest ghost drift Raleigh has ever experienced. 

Just to try if it works both ways, Raleigh concentrates on visualizing the memory of Chuck's fantasy of them in the Jaeger Bay, pressed against Striker's massive foot and getting quite busy. He watches Chuck first flinch and then glare at him, a rather noticeable blush spreading not only over his cheeks but also down his neck. Raleigh smirks, thinking in great detail about how he plans to find out how far down that blush reaches. 

Chuck coughs as if he's choking on something and gets a few confused looks from the techs working on freeing him of the circuitry suit. He glares at Raleigh again once he's calmed down enough to stop coughing, and it's really difficult to suppress the smug smirk. 

When Raleigh is suddenly flooded with images, no, _sensations_ of Chuck touching him from head to toe while pressing him against Striker's foot, of Chuck's hands _inside_ his pants on his butt, it's him who's fighting a coughing attack. Shit, this really is the most intense drift hangover ever, and Raleigh is very very grateful that he doesn't tend to blush.

Now it's Chuck grinning smugly at him while he's standing still and letting the techs do their work.

"That was a fantastic drift test." Mako remarks next to Raleigh, and he turns at her voice which sounds slightly embarrassed. There's a slight blush to her cheeks and she's not quite looking at him, and Raleigh can't help wondering again how much of the... _tension_ she picks up over the drift hangover with him. Her reaction suggests that it's enough that she has a pretty good idea of what they're planning to do as soon as they reach a room that locks. 

_Any_ room.


End file.
